Henry and the Diesels
by bbll22
Summary: *CHAPTER 2 NOW UPLOADED* Henry is sent to deliver scrap to the Other Railway, but he de-rails at the Diesel yard where he recognises some Diesels and meets new ones, but they tell him stories to make him understand them better, will Henry's view change?
1. Henry and the Diesels

Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

**Henry and the Diesels**

It was an early start for Henry one morning, and he wasn't best pleased at all. He'd not long just come back from his Flying Kipper duty and he now had an even bigger duty. It would take a long while to get there, and the load would be heavy. Henry wasn't in the mood for this duty whatsoever.

"Why do I have do this?" he questioned to his driver. He didn't reply, but a voice did, it was the Fat Controller's.

"Henry, I have entrusted you will do this duty to the best of your ability. It is a shame Neville is at the works, otherwise it would have been his. The fact everyone else is busy too means that only you can do it." he boomed at Henry.

"I will do my best then, Sir!" Henry replied. He then steamed off to the station to collect his work.

When he arrived, Henry noticed that there was atleast 15 flatbeds of scraps. These scraps were being taken to the Other Railway where they would be sold on.

"This won't be easy!" said Henry to his driver. He agreed, but then they had to set off. It was a slow start as Henry chugged away from the station, but he coped, just. The trip would take them a long while and it would demand a real effort from Henry, but the flatbeds were very impatient as they'd never had to go so far before.

"Hurry up!" they cried, but Henry ignored them and carried on as much as he could. Morning came and went and then the afternoon soon passed and evening was setting in and Henry still wasn't there yet. He was losing patience himself and was annoyed that he never got a rest along the way as his axles ached incredibly. Soon enough, the Other Railway was in the distance and they before he knew it, he was there. Henry was relieved, but he knew he had to return to Sodor straight the way, so he quickly reversed down the line after the scraps were delivered, but it was too fast, his wheels couldn't cope and then there was trouble. His tender de-railed and then a few of his back wheels too. He was stuck now, and he'd noticed he was in the Diesel yard where all the diesels stayed. Henry then heard two diesel horns, and out out the darkening night came two diesels, smiling very widely.

"Who are you?" boomed a gruff voice towards Henry.

"I...I...I am Henry..." stuttered Henry in response. "Who are you?" he then questioned.

"I'm Robert, but you can call me Bob...and him next to me, that's my brother Richard, but we all call him Tricky Dicky" replied the Diesel.

"I'm sorry I'm stuck here, I've de-railed, can you send for help?" Henry then asked.

"No" replied Tricky Dicky. "You'll have to wait until the morning..."

"Oh no..." cried Henry. He was left here all through the night, and he didn't want this at all. He was atleast with his driver and fireman, but he was with two diesels he'd never met before, this was very awkward indeed. Then all of a sudden, a light turned on and it illuminated an figure in the distance, it was another diesel, but it was in red. Henry was very surprised with what was happening.

"Who's that?" he questioned to the diesels. Neither Bob or Tricky Dicky replied, but a posh sounding voice did.

"I am Uxsbridge..." it declared. "I am the posh diesel!" Henry just watched in amazement, he never thought of such a thing like a posh diesel, but there was one, and it was right infront of him, but before he could even comprehend this, more lights turned on and this time Henry recognised the diesels that were now illuminated.

"Splatter and Dodge?" he said

"The very same..." they said in unison. Henry was now very surprised indeed, but his surprise as another diesel spoke.

"Don't forget about me..." called a voice.

"Who's that?" Henry questioned

"That is our leader..." declared Bob. "Her name is Bonnie..." Henry looked on at Bonnie, her light green paint was quite worn away but her smile lit up the yards.

"Since you're here through the night then Henry, we best make you feel welcome, so we'll tell you our stories..." said Bonnie in a cheery voice. She then began telling her story.

"It was a lonesome night at my station and I was just finishing my work for that day. We'd just got there, and my driver got out to talk to the signalman. He wasn't on a break, so he should have been back very soon, but he wasn't. A couple of hours passed and he never returned. Then all of a sudden, a diesel came from in the distance and pushed me to where we are now. I've never seen my driver since..." told Bonnie. Everyone was quiet throughout, and Henry was very sorry for Bonnie indeed, but he never got the chance to say sorry to her as Uxsbridge immediately began his story.

"As I was the poshest diesel on my railway, it was only natural that when we had a Royal visitor, that I would pull the Royal carriage!" he proudly boasted. Henry was surprised indeed.

"Shame you didn't actually pull the Royal carriage though...you only placed it at the station!" remarked Tricky Dicky. He laughed due to his comment, no-one else did though.

"It is a shame, but it is my proudest moment ever! If only that steamie couldn't have taken the Royal train, then it would have been my duty!" replied Uxsbridge. Henry again felt sorry, something he never expected to feel for a Diesel. The stories carried on into the night and surprisingly Bob the diesel seemed very nice indeed, which at first look you wouldn't expect. It was his brother that was the problem, and it was easy to see as he still hated steamies. Everyone else seemed less bothered with them, which again surprised Henry. He soon gained respect for the Diesels at the yard and their stories carried on...

The night sky was slowly fading as the stories were still going on. Henry's driver and fireman had found a signalman to speak to during this time and had phoned the Fat Controller to tell them what was happening. He seemed fine so Henry's driver and fireman returned to the yards to hear the last of the stories. They listened intently and smiled widely when the story had a good ending. Then a whistle was heard, and from out of the yards appeared a crane engine, it wasn't Harvey, it was painted in blue and yellow and its name was Fleur.

"Glad to be of help!" said Fleur to Henry as she lifted him and his tender back onto the line.

"Much obliged!" replied Henry. He soon said his goodbyes to Fleur and the Diesels and promised if he was ever near again, he would visit. He soon set off, turned round at a turn-table and made his way home. When he got back, the Fat Controller allowed both him and his driver and fireman a day off to relax, and when night came at Tidmouth Sheds, Henry told the stories of the Diesels to everyone else in the hope that their opinion of Diesels would change just like his had.


	2. The Diesel Show

Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

**The Diesel Show**

It was a cold, harsh night at the Diesel Yard on the Other Railway and all the Diesels were struggling to keep warm. Without fires, the cold got to them very quickly.  
"Splatter! Do something about it!" called Dodge.  
"Such as?" questioned Splatter. Dodge fell silent.  
"Keeping our spirits up will cheer us up!" said Bonnie thoughtfully, but Tricky Dicky did not agree. He never agreed with her, and everyone else was surprised that he still stayed here. Tricky Dicky never liked being led, so it was amazing that he did listen to Bonnie's commands every so often.  
"Think of the good old days...they'll keep you warm on the inside..." added Uxsbridge to everyone. With that, he then reminisced fondly about his old days on his railway where he was the most important Diesel around, but now he wasn't on the rails, he was next to a shed, and looked glum most of the time.  
"Do you we think Henry will ever come back?" said Bob all of a sudden, to which everyone's eyes opened widely.  
"I hope so..." called Splatter. "He's the best steamie we've ever known!"  
"He's a good friend to us all!" added Bonnie.  
"Not me!" interjected Tricky Dicky with delight. Everyone else tutted in unison at Tricky Dicky as Bonnie just sighed at him.  
"All we can do is hope..." said Uxsbridge thoughtfully. "It's all we can do..."

Back on the Fat Controller's railway, Henry had been working harder than ever, but from time to time he still missed the stories that the diesels told him while he was at their yard. He'd since told some of the stories to his friends and everyone agreed that these diesels were good diesels, well all except Tricky Dicky.  
"Those diesels were and still are incredibly lonely out there…" Henry said worriedly to Gordon at Tidmouth Sheds.  
"I'm sure they're happy enough there…" Gordon added. "They have each other for company, just like the Sodor Haulage Firm do."  
"The Firm has its grandeur and the respect of many…" Henry pointed out. "What do those diesels have?"  
"They have the fact they're all diesels!" sneered Diesel as he passed the sheds by. Henry and Gordon just ignored him but Enid, who was at the sheds with them just brushed off the remark.  
"They need to feel wanted again I think…" Enid then said. "They need a welcoming party of something like that."  
"But they're not being welcomed anywhere are they?" Henry said.  
"Just think it through Henry…" Enid smiled. "A plan will come eventually."

Soon, a plan did come and it was after Henry and his crew had spoken about the diesels with the Fat Controller. He agreed that something needed doing but again he wasn't sure of what to do at first. Eventually it was decided that a Diesel Show would be held for prospective buyers of the diesels at their yard.  
"It's the least we can do…" the Fat Controller admitted as he set about arranging as much as he could with the Other Railway's yard manager.  
"A diesel show?" the manager said surprised as he chatted with the Fat Controller on the phone.  
"Of course…" the Fat Controller smiled. "You can tell them it's courtesy of Henry if you like. I'm sure they'll be happy about that." and indeed the diesels were surprised.  
"Henry?" said a shocked Bonnie. "THE Henry? The one who came to see us?"  
"I imagine so…" huffed Uxsbridge. "What other Henry do we know of?"  
"We don't…" said Bob.  
"So it's Henry." Bonnie smiled. "A diesel show in his name for us all." Everyone just smiled but Bonnie began to feel more and more unsure about it all. If potential buyers were coming to this show, did that mean that everyone would be separated? She hoped not but all would be found out in time…

A few days later, Henry triumphantly arrived at the yard with the Fat Controller in tow. The journey had once again been a long and arduous one but Henry just smiled at seeing everyone once more.  
"Did you miss me?" he joked to the diesels. Everyone just smiled and said yes, well all except Tricky Dicky.  
"Who'd miss you?" he said with a fierce scowl.  
"Oh please do give it a rest…" Bonnie said exasperatedly. Henry just had to smile. He remembered Bonnie's story from his first visit and it was the one that he simply couldn't forget. She was left all alone at a station and was soon sent here to rust away. She'd taken leadership well but she hadn't moved in years. None of the other diesels had too and that awful to see. Uxsbridge was without wheels, Splatter and Dodge were just stuck in sidings while Tricky Dicky refused to move. Bob was the most recent mover of them all but even then; it had been a long time for him. Henry could only smile when he saw workmen erecting the stands on which the diesels would all be placed on. They were decorated beautifully and eventually when they were all lifted onto their stands, they gleamed proudly as controllers from far and wide came to view them. Everyone was happy, all except Bonnie as she slowly began to realise her fears were becoming true.  
"We're going to be separated…" she said. "Henry, help us…" she then cried out softly but she knew it was no use.

The show was going ahead well, and men were gladly shaking hands with each other and smiled proudly as they signed out cheques and exchanged details. Bonnie was still the only diesel that was concerned by all of this and she just couldn't smile at all, not even at the locals. Henry was beginning to become concerned just as the Fat Controller closed the show.  
"I hope you've all enjoyed today..." called the Fat Controller. "You have all done yourselves and diesels as a whole proud. You will do wonders in your future wherever that will be..." he added.  
"What does he mean?" Uxsbridge inquired.  
"Didn't your manager explain?" the Fat Controller wondered. "The aim of this was to sell you on and make you all useful once again."  
"Oh…" said Splatter and Dodge in unison. "So, that's why the man kept mentioning a new home for us all…"  
"Sir Topham…" the yard manager then said. "I didn't tell them that part of the arrangement as I knew it just wouldn't be right. You can't separate them…"  
"Were a family here…" Bonnie then said proudly.  
"Not likely..." muttered Tricky Dicky who was immediately told to shut up by his brother Bob. Henry then began to speak to the diesels telling them of the purpose of the show once more, and then the Fat Controller did the same too for a while. The diesels slowly began to accept that being sold on to new homes would actually be a good thing.  
"We're going to be fixed..." said Bonnie as she began to get tearful.  
"I'm going to have wheels again!" added Uxsbridge who was overcome with emotion. "I'm going to be useful once more!" Everyone else was full of emotion too and even Tricky Dicky was unable to hide his emotions.  
"Thankyou..." said Bob quite simply and everyone agreed. Once all the paperwork was finalised and flatbeds brought to the yard, the diesels were raring to go to their new homes. Henry and the Fat Controller had waited patiently to see them off as they knew this was a tough moment not just for the diesels, but for them too.  
"Goodbye everyone" Henry chuffed proudly. "I hope you will love your new homes and love being useful once again."  
"We'll make sure of that!" smiled Bonnie with joyful tears streaming down her face as she and everyone else was taken away to their new homes.

When Henry and the Fat Controller returned to Sodor the following morning they realised that another diesel had followed them home. The Fat Controller and a few of the engines instantly recognised who it was.  
"Bear!" The Fat Controller called in astonishment.  
"Indeed, Sir!" replied Bear. "I was passing through the other railway yard just as you were leaving. I couldn't miss this opportunity to come back home. It'll only be for a short period of time unless you want me here for longer." The Fat Controller didn't say anything as he was just shocked to see Bear before him. Bear soon passed him by and immediately started helping out with work on Sodor.  
"He never gives up working..." the Fat Controller muttered to himself. "That's how every diesel should be..."

And indeed for all the yard diesels it wasn't long before they were all refurbished and settling into their new lives all apart from each other and surrounded by new engines. They were being really useful and make sure they would never give up this amazing second chance. Bob had insisted he wasn't kept with his brother and was sent to a Foundry near London where he beamed as bright as the fires of the furnaces. Tricky Dicky was sent to work at mines in and around the Welsh valleys. He's quite happy there as his new friends get his sense of humour unlike anyone he's ever worked with before. Splatter and Dodge work in shunting yards and at fuel depots and just love to annoy each other but be useful at the very same time. Uxsbridge is one of the happiest diesels you can ever find now as his posh links secured him duties working as a bearer of royal carriages. He feels grand and is fulfilling his duty of taking the express whenever he can.  
"Wonderful wheels and excellent expresses make a brilliant combination!" he smiled as passengers cheered his name at his new home. But what about Bonnie? She is doing fine and had been sold back to her old line and was reunited with her old crew.  
"Thank you Henry…" she smiled as she whizzed along her line full of energy she hadn't used in years. "It may have sounded bad at first but doing this was the best thing ever…"


End file.
